Golden Globe Predictions - Film
Hollywoodâs biggest party (and best Oscar foreshadower), the Golden Globe awards, are this Sunday. Itâs a year where no film seems to be pulling away as a clear frontrunner for any award and TV is so competitive we could be in for a very exciting and entertaining show (the Hollywood Foreign Press is known for doing things a little differently anyway). Plus we get Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting, which if prior awards appearances are any indication, should be a very good thing. Below are my predictions as well as what I think should win on the film side of things. I did not see all the Foreign or Animated films so I did not pick. I also did not pick for Score or Song.
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Best Motion Picture Drama: I honestly donât know how I feel about this category this year. I feel like all of the films did what they wanted to but is anyone really going back and making sure they see these films two or three times (Foxcatcher I am looking directly at you, you uncomfortable piece of work). But to me there is no way that Boyhood loses unless Selma finds a way to sneak in for the steal.
           Will and Should Win: Boyhood
Best Actor Drama: This is a tough category to call. I think Gyllenhaalâs win was his nomination but any of the others could come out on top. It depends if the HFPA wants to go with a physical performance and award Redmayne or a less physical performance and decide who did a better job at portraying the real life character they set out to be.
           Will Win: Eddie Redmayne             Should Win: Benedict Cumberbatch
Best Actress Drama: Am I the only one shocked to see Jennifer Anistonâs name on the list of nominees for an acting award, let alone one in a dramatic role? Not knocking her, but when you look at whom she is up against, until this year there wasnât really any reason to say her name in the same sentence as the others. Like Gyllenhaal I think her victory is in her nomination and although Felicity Jones was great as Jane Hawking, Eddie Redmayne simply overshadows her. Reese Witherspoon was the whole movie in Wild, but I think this year itâs going to come down to Julianne Mooreâs less seen heartbreaking role versus Rosamund Pikeâs more mainstream and villainous role.
           Will Win: Julianne Moore                Should Win: Reese Witherspoon
Best Picture Musical or Comedy: I think this is the easiest award to predict and although The Grand Budapest Hotel could steal its thunder, this is Birdmanâs prize to lose.
           Will and Should Win: Birdman
Best Actor Musical or Comedy: This might be the coolest bunch of guys ever nominated for the award. Christoph Waltz is loved by the HFPA and has already won a Globe twice. Bill Murray and Joaquin Phoenix have both taken home awards in this category and have large fan bases. Ralph Fiennes has been nominated five times and is consistently great in everything he is in including Grand Budapest. And then there is Michael Keaton who was Batman in the 90s and then played a washed up superhero in the 10s. I think Fiennes will be the only nominee to not have a Golden Globe victory after Sunday.
           Will and Should Win: Michael Keaton
Best Actress Musical or Comedy: I really donât know. Come Oscar time I think maybe the winner here will be the only one out of the nominees to actually find themselves nominated for the top film prize. Who that will be I am completely uncertain. I love that Wallis gets nominated for Annie, but not for Beasts of the Southern Wild (yes that is sarcasm). If thatâs not a makeup nomination then nothing is. I donât see Julianne Moore winning twice in the same year. Helen Mirren is well loved but so is Amy Adams and Emily Blunt was solid as always. The HFPA likes showier performances so Iâll give the edge to Blunt.
           Will Win: Emily Blunt                      Should Win: Amy Adams
Best Supporting Actor: Iâm surprised that Robert Duvall earned a nomination and feel there were better performances out there. Then you have Edward Norton who was great, Mark Ruffalo who was great, and Ethan Hawke who was great. The only problem is that they are up against J.K. Simmons, who is more than phenomenal. I donât really know what to say about this performance that hasnât already been said, so instead I will say this: Go watch Oz, so you can see that J.K. Simmons has just been waiting for the right moment to step out of the shadows and into the limelight.
           Will and Should Win: J.K. Simmons
Best Supporting Actress: I love Keira Knightley but I donât see her winning this one. The same goes for Jessica Chastain who seems to get nominated every year but can never get over the hump and win. Patricia Arquette has been the favorite all year, so for her to lose would be shocking, but the performance that Emma Stone gave came out of nowhere and was shockingly good. I think it comes down to Arquette and Stone but who could ever count out Queen Meryl especially when she plays as showy a character as she does in Into the Woods.
           Will Win: Patricia Arquette             Should Win: Emma Stone
Best Director: So Gone Girl gets nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay but doesnât get nominated for Best Picture, and Selma gets nominated for Best Picture but not Best Screenplay. Iâm not saying this is a bad thing, just a very unusual one for the HFPA. Anyway everyone in this category did great work this year, but at the end of the day itâs going to come down to Alejandro Inarittu and Richard Linklater. Both made very innovative films and both of them deserve to win. But there can only be one.
           Will Win: Richard Linklater             Should Win: Inarittu or Linklater
Best Screenplay: This is the one category where I feel that Boyhood might actually lose. The film is unique and innovative, but the script is almost a side note to everything else that is going on. Gone Girl and The Imitation Game, both work well because of their fast paced scripts, but I think this award comes down to two: Wes Anderson and all the guys from Birdman. Birdman won everything else so why wouldnât it win this.
           Will Win: Birdman                            Should Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
 So there is the film side of things. Iâm interested to see what takes the upper hand in the Screenplay and Director categories because I feel like that might set the tone for what happens on Oscar night. Check back tomorrow for the TV side of things.